Jun 9, 2020

This episode features the second of a four-part discussion on the topic of Evil. In it, Latter-day Faith host Dan Wotherspoon is joined by the wonderful Kathryn Sontag and Danny Kofoed to talk about several topic areas in regard to evil. The first two parts are being released the week of June 7th, with Parts 3 and 4 the following week.

Part 1: The focus is the nature of evil itself. Is it something that exists eternally, outside of creation and independent of it, or is it a relational concept, relying on the existence of things in relation to each other to even have meaning? The panel also focuses on "the problem of evil" which comes into play (and has side-railed many a person's faith) for theists when we ask, "If God is perfectly good, and also all-powerful, why is there evil in the world?" It's a rich discussion area in philosophy of religion but also in our own lives, especially when tragedy strikes. Does Mormonism have an different take on the question than most Christian faiths? Is these even a problem that is solvable?

Part 2: In this section, the discussion turns to the question of Satan/the Devil/Lucifer. Is this being and his minions responsible for temptations that lead us away from the true path? Or is there something else going on within us that gives us the impression of external forces at play when we find ourselves thinking and doing things that we know are not spiritually healthy? Are both things at play? Why is it important to at least consider evil as being fully personified in a being with will and destructive motive? Regardless of the factuality of the idea of a real Satan character, is it helpful or harmful psychologically to believe in one? What do we gain or lose should we just pick one or the other position?